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Building India’s Smart Sustainable Megacities of the Future

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Voice&Data Bureau
New Update
smart cities

India is projected to house 416 million new urban dwellers by 2050. In less than a decade, Delhi is expected to overtake Tokyo as the world’s most populous city by 2030. By the next decade, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad are expected to become megacities, with some of the fastest economic growth in the world.

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Increasingly, technology will be used in the development and running of cities of the future — and India’s up-and-coming megacities will be no different. With the climate crisis becoming the most pressing challenge of our time, sustainability is no longer an opt-in for cities of the future; it needs to be part of their DNA. Going forward, digitalization is the key to meeting our environmental and reduced emissions goals.

A large Indian industrial property developer is using Johnson Controls OpenBlue solution to remotely measure and monitor energy and water usage for all its 44 smart parks across India. It uses OpenBlue-- a suite of tailored, AI-powered service solutions such as remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, compliance monitoring, advanced risk assessments and more.

Smart Sustainable Cities of the Future

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  • “10 cities are predicted to gain megacity status by 2030”. World Economic Forum. Feb 6, 2019.
  • "The 10 fastest-growing cities in the world are all in India”. World Economic Forum. Dec 19, 2018.
  • "5 big challenges facing big cities of the future”. World Economic Forum. Oct 29, 2018.

It’s imperative that cities reimagine their current infrastructure models and envision a connected, sustainable future for the community. Case in point: the buildings in which we spend so much of our daily lives play a big part in contributing some 40% to global carbon emissions.

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Less than 1% of all commercial buildings and homes worldwide are net zero, according to a report by the World Green Building Council. A "net zero building” is defined as a highly energy-efficient building which generates or supplies the energy it needs to operate from renewable sources to achieve net zero carbon emissions. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the global non-profit organization urges a “dramatic and ambitious transformation”. This will include reducing carbon emissions from buildings by at least 80% of what they are today to achieve the COP21 target by 2050.

We are now living through a fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. This refers to the integration of physical assets with advanced digital technologies, such as the internet of things (IoT), AI, robots, drones, 3D printing, cloud computing, and more. These digital technologies specialize in communicating, analyzing, and acting on data – offering organizations, consumers, and society better, deeper insights.


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"Every building on the planet must be ‘net zero carbon by 2050 to keep global warming below 2°C -

"Smart and Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure”. Deloitte.

In particular, digitalization can help address sustainability concerns within the building industry. The software can gather and analyze data about energy, water, materials, and emissions involved in every phase of a building’s lifecycle: its design, construction, operation, renovation, and end-of-life. Leveraging data can help companies evaluate the total environmental impact of their property portfolio, as well as estimate the impact of any retrofit.

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Smart buildings underpin the development of sustainable cities with a “people-first” approach to construction. The convergence of IoT and ubiquitous computing generates enormous data and information about the building into actionable resources. For instance, smart thermostats can intuitively adjust the temperature, humidity, and light based on occupants’ preferences and climatic conditions.

Standard Chartered is using Johnson Controls OpenBlue solution across its Asia Pacific operations, which involves some 100 buildings, to reduce the bank’s annual energy costs.

A smart building becomes more operationally sustainable by adapting more easily to changing conditions. Advanced analytics can help to identify further energy savings and emissions reductions opportunities across buildings, while AI-enhanced technology can help avoid unplanned repairs and maximize uptime of large heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, which account for up to 70% of a building’s energy consumption. A smart building is able to use these insights to understand how human activities and floor space impact its building energy performance, and in turn, measures the sustainability and efficiency of the building in supporting occupants’ physical health and mental well-being.

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An average commercial building produces about 150GB of data every day. By establishing standards for operational data sharing on new developments, city planners can evaluate the overall impact on the surrounding environment. For instance, city authorities can require the inclusion of green space in exchange for permission to build additional commercial office space, thus creating a win-win scenario for the city and the building owners.

Partner for the Sustainability Journey


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Companies should start by defining where they are in their sustainability journeys, and then define their destination. For example, they can establish where they sit on the sustainability spectrum via a scoring model, which evaluates their processes, systems, and data points.

That makes it easier to set realistic goals, whether they are a multinational company aiming for net zero Scope 1 emissions, a manufacturer targeting a higher environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating, or a factory attempting to measure its environment, health, and safety (EHS) leading indicators.

As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, Johnson Controls enables smart cities and communities by providing solutions that optimize building performance, improve safety and enhance comfort. The company has 137 years of expertise in the built environment, with one of the widest portfolios of building technologies including building controls and automation, HVAC, industrial refrigeration, security, and fire protection.

Whatever the sustainability objectives — boosting energy efficiency, reducing costs or minimizing carbon emissions — Johnson Controls OpenBlue technology guides companies at different stages of their digitalization journey to deliver on net-zero outcome and risk management goals.

OpenBlue is a complete suite of connected solutions that deliver impactful sustainability, new healthy occupant experiences, and respectful safety and security that combines the company’s building expertise with cutting-edge technology. OpenBlue features a suite of tailored, AI-powered service solutions such as remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, compliance monitoring, advanced risk assessments, and more.

OpenBlue MAIN Figure 1
OpenBlue MAIN Figure 1

The smart system collects data from the building (such as lighting, HVAC, fire detection, and access points), applies machine learning at the edge and in the cloud, and compares the data against optimized AI performance models. This approach provides building owners and facilities managers with the information to make data-driven wellness decisions for the benefit of the community, in addition to saving costs and energy. From waste-water reduction, and clean air solutions to cloud-based remote monitoring, OpenBlue technology helps create smart, efficient, and healthy building infrastructure that impacts environments in ways that ripple throughout the larger community and impact the planet.

For starters, OpenBlue Net Zero Adviser, real-time, AI-driven tracking and reporting of sustainability metrics, enables companies to understand what factors are contributing to their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. By establishing a baseline, companies can take action to improve their energy efficiency and emissions to reach net zero decarbonization goals.

Johnson Controls has been present in India since 1995 and employs more than 6,000 people, includingmore than 1,400 engineersat its five Research & Development (R&D) centers.

With concerns over health and wellness in the post-pandemic environment, OpenBlue Healthy Buildings offers a blueprint that transforms indoor built environments into intelligent, resilient spaces that respond to changing external conditions and occupants’ needs. The focus is on prioritizing people-centered outcomes, such as improving air quality and enhancing occupant safety, while increasing facility efficiency.

Thought Leadership Healthy buildings philosophy Infographic Figure 2 112
Thought Leadership Healthy buildings philosophy Infographic Figure 2 112

The need and demand for a 360-degree net zero carbon solution is clear. OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings is a full spectrum of sustainability offerings tailored to schools, campuses, datacenters, healthcare facilities as well as commercial and industry players; providing our customers with guaranteed outcomes and risk management models to ensure and prove the net zero carbon reduction and renewable energy impact of their buildings. The offering includes a broad range of software, products and services to help make net zero leadership easy for customers with a proven path to hit decarbonizationgoals. It is an unmatched turnkey delivery to assess, benchmark, plan, execute, track and achieve net zero buildings.

An average commercial building produces about 150GB of data every day

The software engineering team in India plays a pivotal role in developing the OpenBlue technology.There are now five research and development centers in Indiaemploying more than 1,400 engineers.The centers are located in Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaonand Pune, with the latest one officially opened in Hyderabad in June this year.The team in India will continue to be thesoftware powerhouse of Johnson Controls, partnering with technology leaders such as Accenture, to advance the OpenBluedigital technology and application development.

Johnson Controls has been present in India since 1995 and is headquartered in Pune. The company employs more than 6,000 people in India, including approximately 850 frontline staff.

There are 16 branch offices, four manufacturing facilities, and five Research & Development (R&D) centers with more than 1,400 engineers.

As a certified Grade 1 Energy Service Company (ESCO), with the widest portfolio of solutions for buildings, Johnson Controls is driving towards improving energy efficiency and achieving net zero for customers in India.

Smart Infrastructure in Action

As part of its environmental sustainability commitments, Johnson Controls aims to cut operational emissions by 55% and reduce enterprise customers' emissions by 16% before 2030. For instance, its new GlobalFinance Center of Excellence, housed in the Tata RealtyIntellion Park in Gurgaon, is equipped with OpenBlue technology andhas the latest accessibility, safety, wellness and sustainability features.

Johnson Controls OpenBlue digital technology is helping many Asian companies reap significant improvement in energy efficiency and corresponding carbon emissions. For example, Standard Chartered is using Johnson Controls OpenBlue solution across its Asia Pacific operations, which involves some 100 buildings, to reduce the bank’s annual energy costs. This digitalization effort establishes a strong foundation for sustainability management for Standard Chartered Bank, which is committing to net-zero carbon emissions from its own operations by 2030.

A smart building becomes more operationally sustainable by adapting more easily to changing conditions.Advanced analytics can help to identify further energy savings and emissions reductions

Closer to home, a large Indian industrial property developer is using Johnson Controls OpenBlue solution to remotely measure and monitor energy and water usage for all its 44 smart parks across India. The data is integrated with a third-party billing app which enables the smart parks’ tenants to view their individual water and energy consumption details.

Digitalization and sustainability are interconnected initiatives in urban city development. If the world takes meaningful action on sustainability today, it can stave off climate catastrophe tomorrow. The real winner is the planet.

By Vijay Sankaran, VP & CTO, Johnson Controls

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